Bates Motel
by spobytongue
Summary: For a spring break trip, the girls and their partners go on a trip, and they stay at Bates Motel, where the weirdest things start happening. Spoby, Ezria, Haleb, and Paily. (Give it a shot)


Bates Motel

Chapter 1

"I've needed this break for so long!" Spencer Hastings cried, sighing as she leaned against Aria. The four teenage girls, who were seniors at Rosewood High, walked out of the building. It was the week they had been waiting for. "It feels like winter break was so long ago. I can't believe we're finally here."

Hanna smiled, putting her arm around Emily. "Too long! I can't wait to go home and just relax. Sleepover at your place, right Spence? I hope we didn't cancel that, because I could use some serious girl time." Her friends nodded their heads. "Good. I have to pick up my stuff from home, so what time are we going to meet at Spencer's place?"

"Immediately!" Spencer cried. "I don't want to wait for this. I've already been waiting too long. So, go home and get your crap, then drive straight to my place. I'll start looking for movies. Can we not watch a rom com tonight? We always watch chick flicks. I could use some horror."

"Hell no," Aria said, shaking her head. "You guys know that I can't stand horror movies! How about we watch a classic black and white film? Those are so beautifully cinematic. Plus, I just love the way people dressed back then. It's so classic!"

Hanna rolled her eyes and said, "Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but we're not your Little Ezra Fitzy. We don't like those crappy black and white movies like he does. He's so old school, so that explains why he likes those really boring old films."

Emily chuckled and said, "Way to insult Aria's boyfriend right in front of her. This is why everyone thinks you're the most blunt one in our group."

"Guilty as charged," Hanna said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll see you guys in a bit." Hanna got into her car.

"It better be a quick bit!" Spencer called out, as Hanna drove away giggling. "I'm going to take my time getting home, so you guys better get to my place fast."

"All right, I got it. I'll race home and to your place as if it's a Nascar race or something," Aria said, chuckling quietly as she got into her house. "Come on, Em. I drove you to school, so I have to drive you back, too. We can stop at your place to pick your stuff up, too."

"Awesome," Emily said, smiling. "I'll see you in a few minutes, Spence!"

The brunette waved as her friends drove off to their houses to get their belongings before the sleepover party. She took her time walking back to her car. She didn't want to be the first to arrive, and be waiting there, so she went as slowly as possible.

* * *

"Toby, are you sure they're going to be here?" Ezra Fitz asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I mean, what if there has been a change of plans and the sleepover is off? What if they're staying at a different girl's house? What if—"

"No more what ifs," Toby said, rolling his eyes. "I remember that Spencer said she would be staying at her house for the sleepover! We'll have to take our chances. This would be pretty lame if there was a change of plans, but we can still make a great and surprising revelation. Where's Caleb?"

The shaggy haired hacker came out of the Hastings's kitchen with a goofy grin on his face. "Damn Cavanaugh, your girlfriend has a lot of coffee in her kitchen!" Caleb exclaimed, sipping his steaming cup of coffee that he had just poured for himself.

"Hey! I didn't say you could take all of her food," Toby said, furrowing his eyebrows. "This is her house, man, not mine."

"She's super rich, anyways!" Caleb said, sighing. "Besides, we got those girls a huge surprise. They owe us, and I think a simple payment for their debt, at the least, would be allowing us to drink their coffee."

"You could have asked her!" Toby said, crossing his arms. "I'm not taking the blame for drinking all her coffee, okay? We've been fighting a lot lately, even about the dumbest things, and I just need to make this one trip perfect. I want to make things right between us. I don't want any more bickering or fighting. I want us to go back to the way we used to be."

Caleb popped a chip into his mouth and said, "Wow man, that is just so deep! You should tell her that. She'll be ripping your pants off when she realizes what an awesome surprise you planned for her... and the rest of the girls. This wouldn't be possible without your planning, you know."

"I couldn't have pulled it off without your help, guys," Toby said, smiling. "Sure, it was my idea, but you guys did so much work in helping me plan this. You guys helped me come up with the place and everything. It's great. Do you think they're going to come to her house soon?"

"It's been like ten minutes since school ended," Ezra said, glancing at his watch. "Since I worked at their high school for a pretty long time, I think I know when sixth period ends. Anyways, it shouldn't be long until they're back, so we better be ready. Toby, do you have the plane tickets?"

He nodded his head and said, "Right here, Ezra." There was the sound of the door unlocking. "Crap guys, they're here! I wasn't ready for that... it was so soon."

"Shut up and get into place," Ezra hissed, ducking behind the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, so I gave my mom the pumps. Big mistake! I realized how cute they were when I saw my mom strutting them on her way to a date with that oaf Pastor Ted, and damn, they made her calves look hot!" Hanna exclaimed. "So I practically begged my mom to let me share them with her, and she finally agreed, and I'm just so happy about it, because damn, they're so cu—"

"Surprise!" the three boys exclaimed, standing up from behind the kitchen counter.

"What the hell!?" Spencer shrieked. "Toby? Caleb? Ezra? What are you guys doing here? How the hell did you get in my house?"

"I had your mom let us in," Toby said, walking over to her. He placed a long kiss on her lips. "We are going on a trip for spring break! We all planned it, and we decided that it would be a great idea. So, are you guys in? You better say yes because we already bought the plane tickets, and it would be super disappointing if you said no."

"Oh, um, we kind of wanted to just relax throughout spring break," Spencer said, biting her lip. "I appreciate it, though, guys! Where is this trip to, anyways?"

"Oregon!" Caleb exclaimed, and sighed when he saw all four girls furrowing their eyebrows in disappointment. "I know it sounds lame, but it's really not! We're going to stay in this brand new motel, and it's like such a great fishing spot. There are amazing lakes and rivers there with great varieties of fish!"

"You want us to go on a fishing trip with you guys?" Hanna said, laughing loudly. "Sorry guys, but hell no! Why didn't you pick somewhere more... appealing? Like Hawaii, Florida, California! Anywhere but this dumb as fuck fishing spot."

Caleb cringed a little bit at his girlfriend's words. He frowned, let out a loud sigh, and then sat down on a chair in Spencer's breakfast bar.

"Hey," Aria spoke up, twirling around to Ezra's side. "I think it could be fun, you know! Sure, fishing isn't the most appealing pastime, but, we owe it to these amazing guys to take on their trip idea. It could be fun! It's just going to be us in a motel. Imagine how great the view is going to be by the lakes. I've been wanting to take some photos of lakes. I've heard the fishing spots in Oregon are great. People in my photography class always take the most amazing photos of the lakes."

"See, here's an amazingly optimistic person!" Ezra exclaimed, putting his arm around her. "If I were you, I would totally listen to her. She's got a brilliant mind."

"What do you guys say?" Spencer asked the other two girls, turning around.

"I guess... I guess we could give it a try," Emily said, shrugging her shoulders. "Hanna, what about you?"

"If you two are in, then so am I," Hanna said, smiling.

"That's more like it!" Caleb exclaimed. "We all get to be alone with our beautiful women, huh, guys?"

Emily looked away sadly.

"Hey Em, we could... we could... we could uh... we could call Paige if you want us to!" Toby suggested. "Yeah, let's call Paige! You don't have to be the only one who's alone. I know she wasn't a part of the planning, but to be fair, we didn't ask her. We should have, because this is unfair to you. Why don't we call her right now?"

Emily swallowed hard before saying, "Paige and I broke up, Toby! We got into some argument, and we both agreed that it would be better to break up. It was rough, but it's over now. It doesn't matter. I don't need a girlfriend to be happy. I'll be fine on the trip."

"Wait, seriously guys, why'd you pick Oregon out of all the places on earth?" Hanna asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"B-because we love fishing!" Caleb exclaimed, obviously lying. "Fishing is just so much fun. We heard about how great the lakes are, and we decided that we should try something new instead of a lame and typical Florida trip. The tropical places are so overused. You don't always hear about guys taking their girls on a trip to Oregon for fishing, do you?"

"No, no, no we don't!" Hanna yelled. "Because no person takes their 'girl' on a fishing trip! That's for fathers and their sons! Am I your son? I don't remember you being my dad, and I don't remembering me having a dick, so stop lying to me. Why are we going on a fishing trip?"

"Okay, okay," Ezra said, stepping up. He cleared his throat and explained, "No need to get angry. We didn't do this for disputes to start. We wanted to take you girls on a trip during spring break, but everything was far too expensive. There's this motel in Oregon that is having a big discount over spring break, and also offered complementary fishing supply rentals if we reserved more than three rooms!"

"Oh, so we were your free fishing trip friends?" Hanna asked, rolling her eyes.

"The flight costs money! But, we heard that the fishing spots there are great, anyways, so if we were getting all those free benefits, we thought that it could be fun," Ezra said. "The photos of the motel are so nice, too! It looks great. They have a breakfast bar, too. And the point of the trip isn't to go on a costly cruise, it's to spend time with each other. So, it's not supposed to matter where we go."

"Do you always sap your way out of everything?" Aria joked, kissing his cheek gently. "Thank you for the trip, babe. I know it doesn't seem like it, but we all really appreciate your thoughtfulness. All three of you."

Ezra smiled an hugged her.

"It feels good to hear someone's expression of appreciation," Ezra whispered.

"Uh, so when do we leave, anyways?" Spencer asked. "We actually had a sleepover tonight, but I'm sure you guys already knew, since you're all here, and knew we would be here before we got home."

"The flight is tomorrow in the afternoon," Toby explained. "Hey Spence, don't knock it now. I'll make sure you have fun. Do you mind if we crash your sleepover?"

She sighed and rested her head on her boyfriend's chest.

"Knock yourself out, Doofus," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "It's not really a girls' night anymore, is it?"

"I guess not," Emily said, chuckling. "But I don't mind. These guys are pretty cool, considering the fact that they got us amazing plane tickets to a wonderful fishing spot in the fabulous state of Oregon."

"Is this mockery?" Toby chuckled, his lips gently brushing through Spencer's hair.

"Hmm, I think it is," Emily teased. "Since the guys are here, I definitely don't think a chick flick should be watched. You got your wish, Spence."

"Guys, are you even sure that the Hastings parents would want a bunch of guys to sleep over at their female daughter's house?" Hanna said, raising an eyebrow.

Spencer laughed loudly, "Oh Hanna, you know they would never approve of this. Three obnoxious guys? Horny, crazy, stupid boys! Luckily for us, those lovely parents are out of town again, as usual. My mom's in Boston for a business trip, and my dad is visiting his own dad. They told me I could have you three over, but I don't remember them saying that Toby, or any of the guys, could come over. But who cares?"

"Wait, we can't just go to Oregon without telling our parents!" Aria cried all of a sudden.

"Don't worry," Toby said to her, chuckling. "We checked in with all of your parents, and they trust us enough to let us go. The only thing is... they wanted an adult from the family to come with us. So, we picked the coolest adult we could. Jason."

"Jason DiLaurentis?" Aria said, her mouth hanging slightly.

"No Aria, the other Jason we know," Hanna teased, rolling her eyes.

"Well sorry I'm in shock, but the guy is my ex boyfriend!" Aria cried. "You didn't expect me to be totally calm about the arrangement, did you?"

"I do, because Jason's my half brother, Aria," Spencer said. "I trust the guy with my life. I know it's weird, since he's your ex boyfriend, but you guys dated like two years ago. That's the past. You're with some one else now. Honestly, I think Ezra's handling it better than you are! He doesn't even seem to have a problem with it."

"Well, of course it was weird when Toby suggested that we bring Jason as our adult, considering the fact that he's my girlfriend's ex boyfriend, and also the fact that I'm older than him, and he's considered the adult, but I got past it," Ezra said, touching his girlfriend's chin. "And babe, I think you should get over it, too. I mean, she's right. It's been a long time since you guys dated."

"That's true! Jason's older than you, so why is he the adult and not you?" Emily asked. "Aren't you old enough for them?"

"Gee, thanks for calling me old, Emily," Ezra joked. "And no, I'm not the Montgomery parents's ideal chaperone for the trip, since I am Aria's boyfriend. They don't know that Aria and Jason dated, so they don't care if he's the adult. And he's slightly past his twenties, so all the parents seem to approve of it. Boyfriends don't count as chaperones."

"Well, now that we've gotten the interrogations over, I think that we have a sleepover to crash, huh, guys?" Caleb teased, grinning.

* * *

The plane from Pennsylvania to Oregon went by quicker than every body thought it would. Most of them slept through the whole plane ride. They arrived in a crummy old airport, but Ezra promised them that things would get better when they got to check out the lakes. Aria had her camera ready for some sight seeing and picture taking. They rented a car from some ghetto looking building with vandalism all over it.

"Well damn, boys, you picked one fine town," Hanna mocked. "I can't believe you guys chose this ghetto ass town for the trip! I don't think the motel discount and complementary fishing supplies make up for this crap. We could have gone somewhere more fun and romantic. Florida is looking like gold compared to this. Hell, we could have gone to Vegas for break!"

"Hey, I promise things will get better," Ezra said, driving the car along the roads of the 'ghetto ass town'. "In the pictures, the lakes and motel looked lovely. It's going to get better once we get to the part of town that we're staying in! Don't you worry, ladies. It'll be okay."

And then they arrived at the motel. There was a large sign reading _Bates Motel_ at the top. It was in a dirt filled area, and it seemed kind of dark and dim.

"Well, this place is just a paradise!" Hanna yelled, getting out of the car.

"Wait, Hanna, we're sorry!" Caleb cried, chasing after his girlfriend after getting out of the car as well. "Look, we didn't know that this is the way it would be and look. In the photos, it looked magnificent. We can prove it to you. Ezra, show her the photos!"

"I don't care about the photos," Hanna growled. "I want to go home, Caleb!"

"I know, baby, I know," Caleb said, pulling her in for a hug. Her head rested against his chest. He let out a faint sigh. "Hanna, I'm so sorry. I didn't think that it would be so un formal. We thought it would be better. But don't you worry, okay? The point isn't the motel, remember? It's being together! We can still have fun when we go fishing."

"I didn't come here to go fucking fishing, though!" Hanna cried. "I wanted to be in a beautiful motel, with beautiful scenery, where we could all spend time together."

"It doesn't matter where we are, Hanna Marin," he whispered, stroking her hair. "We can still spend time together. It doesn't have to be in a kingdom."

He pecked her lips gently, and hugged her again.

"Hey guys, the lobby is here," Emily announced, pointing to a building. Everyone followed the swimmer into the lobby.

A blonde woman looked up at them. She smiled in a peculiar way, opening up her laptop as they walked in. She grabbed four keys from the wall behind her, and placed them down on the lobby desk.

"I know who you are," she said, causing them to furrow their eyebrows. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys! I just know that you're the big group that requested four rooms, right? Right? Yes, I'm sure you are. Well, I am the owner of this motel. Norma Bates is the name. Norman, get over here!"

A handsome and shy looking young man walked into the lobby.

"Yes, mother?"

"These are our newest guests," Norma Bates said, smiling in an odd way. "This... this is my son... Norman Bates."

"Norma and Norman?" Jason spoke up, furrowing his eyebrows. "Strangely close names. Was it on purpose, Miss Bates?"

She smiled a little and said, "Wouldn't you like to know? People say that to us all the time. Norman, show these teenagers to their rooms."

"Yes, mother," Norman Bates said, nodding his head. "If you would just follow me..."

The group followed the strange young man. Norma smiled as they left the lobby. Sitting outside near the motel rooms was another young man, who looked slightly younger than Jason. He had a beer can in his hand. He swallowed when he saw the group coming his way.

"Norman, is this the big group that Norma has been talking about?" he asked. "You know... the ones who made the big reservation."

Norman nodded his head, and said, "I think so. Mother was very happy to see them."

The other guy rolled his eyes, standing up. He stood in front of the group.

"I'm Dylan Massett," he said. "I'm Norman's older brother."

"But... but his last name is Bates?" Toby pointed out, biting his lip.

"Half brother. All I can tell you is that Norma, the woman at the lobby who owns this place, is a big whore," Dylan hissed, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Shut up, Dylan!" Norman yelled. "Don't talk that way about her!"

"Dude, calm down. Well, it was nice meeting you guys. I think we've already made enough of a scene here, so I'll let you guys be on your way," Dylan said, walking off.

"I am sorry about Dylan," Norman politely apologized. "Anyways, here are your rooms. Mother got them in chronological order for you. Four, five, six, and seven."

Spencer felt slightly tense at the way that the Norman kid was speaking, but she reached out and took the four keys from his hands. He handed one to Aria and Ezra, another to Hanna and Caleb, and the last to Emily and Jason, who awkwardly, would be sharing a room. It wasn't really too bad, though, since Emily was gay. Jason knew there wouldn't be any problem with the arrangement. They all waited for Norman to leave, because he brought an unexplainable awkward tension.

"This place," Hanna began, "is as scary as fuck."

"Sweetie, the kid was a little bit weird, but it's gonna be fine," Caleb said, kissing her cheek. She nodded her head, and put her arm around him.

"It's actually getting pretty late," Aria said, breaking the silence. She reached for Ezra's hand. "I think it's time that we all go to our respective rooms, right?"

There was a murmur of 'sure's and 'yes'es amongst the group.

"Toby," Spencer quietly said as they walked into their motel room. He looked up at her. "I know that motels are supposed to be our thing, but this one isn't. It's nothing like our regular Edgewood Motor Court! This place gives me the shakes. I don't know what it is, but there's something weird about this motel. I can't tell what it is."

"You mean that harmless Norman kid?" Toby said, sighing. "Hey, he was probably just nervous, Spence. This is just like the other motels. Well, it doesn't have the sentimental value that the Edgewood Motor Court has to me, but it still reminds me of all the good times we've had." He paused for a moment, and cupped her cheeks. "And all the good times that are yet to come."

She smiled back at him, finally. Their lips moved closer slowly, until they met for a fiery kiss. Her hands got tangled in his light brown hair, ruffling through it as she struggled to keep herself balanced. So, the trip sucked. The place they were at was haunted looking, and the setting wasn't the prettiest. But, what really mattered was that she had a whole spring break with her friends, and her insanely gorgeous boyfriend, who had went to the trouble of putting the whole trip together. She and her friends were so lucky to have guys like Caleb, Toby, and Ezra.

And then there was a knock at their door, breaking their heated kiss. Spencer pulled back first, her hand gently brushing over his chest before she walked to the door. She opened it slowly, and nearly gasped when she saw the figure at the door.

"Paige?" she choked. "What are you doing here?"

The big brown eyed swimmer's eyes widened.

"Spencer?" Paige choked back, equally surprised. "I didn't know you would be here. I... I was visiting my aunt. She lives here in Oregon, and I needed a job. This motel was hiring, so I offered to do some work here for minimum wage for the week. My aunt isn't the richest lady, so I wanted to earn my own cash instead of spending hers."

"Don't you want to be spending time with your aunt instead of working throughout the whole trip?" Spencer asked, raising her eyebrow. "This defeats the purpose of visiting her."

"Well, I took a night shift here, so I only work at late hours," Paige told them. "Ms. Bates just has me be a little room service. I carry meals to the guests, clean up a little, bring towels when you guys need some. Anyways, are you and Toby visiting together?"

"Yeah, yeah, we are," she said, nodding her head. "But it's not only us. We're just sharing a room together. A couple of our other friends are here, too. Caleb, Hanna, Aria..." Spencer's eyes drifted up to meet Paige's. "Emily, too."

"I should have known," Paige muttered. "She's staying here?"

Spencer nodded her head and said, "She's in room five with Jason."

"Jason DiLaurentis?" Paige asked, shocked. "Why is she sharing a room with him?"

"Well, Aria, Hanna, and I are all dating somebody who came on the trip, so we roomed with that person. Emily isn't exactly in a relationship right now, and Jason is my half brother and our chaperone for the trip, so they're rooming together," Spencer explained. "You know, she would have roomed with you... if you guys hadn't... you know."

"Right," Paige said, biting her lip. "Well, I should get back to work. I might just talk to her if I see her. So, do you two need anything right now?" She glanced at the couple. "Condoms?" she joked.

"Seriously?" Spencer said, bitterly laughing.

"Sorry," Paige said, still smiling. "I'm sure Ms. Bates would have them. I can ask her if you want."

"We don't want any, Paige," Toby said, taking his girlfriend's hand. "Shouldn't you be getting back to work?"

"Right, I forgot that you already have all the condoms you need, Cavanaugh," she said, smirking at them. "I'm kidding. Lighten up, would you?"

"Well, excuse you, but this town isn't exactly a light town," Spencer said, sighing. "It's hard to take a joke when I feel like I'm in Murderville. This is worse than Rosewood."

"I feel you. Working at nights only makes my job scarier," Paige said, sighing as well. "Well, I'm going to go keep doing my job, and hopefully I will have a chance to talk to Emily. Sorry for the inappropriate jokes, Spencer. It was nice talking to you. We never really talked much, did we? I was always just that girl that Emily was dating. We were never friends."

"I had a lot on my plate at the time you two were dating, and I still have a lot on my plate," Spencer said. "But, it's break now, so maybe we could talk a little. You know, Emily really cares about you still. I don't know if she still likes you, but I know she still cares."

"Really? Wow," Paige said, smiling. "That's really warming to know. I know I've said it like a million times, but this time is for real. I should get going. Ms. Bates is going to think I'm slacking off on the job. I don't want my aunt to have to pay any money for me, so... see you guys later. Call me if you need anything at all. I'm working until eleven."

The brunette waved at the swimmer as she walked away.

"Hmm... Funny seeing her here," Toby said, wrapping his arms around Spencer. "Anyways, are you tired? Because I am. You wanna go to bed now, Spence?"

"Exhausted from the plane ride!" she cried. "I'm going to get my favorite pajama shirt. I think you know which one that is."

He smiled at her and kissed her nose.

"Could it ever be my shirt?" Toby asked, taking both of her hands in his. "You know, you took that shirt from me at a motel. Motels really are our thing, huh?"

"I believe motels and Scrabble are our things," she said, smiling as she went on her tip toes to kiss his lips. "Oh, and you know it's your shirt. I thought we established that I'm never giving it back to you, sir." He chucked and hugged her gently.

* * *

"Another cup of coffee, babe?" Ezra offered, walking up behind his girlfriend. "You look really tense, Ar. What's going on?"

"I tried to defend this place... this trip... you three..." she muttered sadly. "But this has been nothing but a disappointment so far! I'm starting to agree with Hanna. This place gives bad connotations already. The people at this motel are so... abnormal. I mean, that Norman guy makes me shiver."

"I didn't know it would be like this, Aria," Ezra said, sighing as he put his coffee mug down. "I thought that it would be as beautiful as in the pictures, but it wasn't. Blame the internet for this misconstrue!" She chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Ar... I know it's not what you were hoping for, far from it, actually, but we can all still have a good time! You've got your camera, right?" She nodded her head. "See? This is good. You can take pictures of the fishing spot when we go. You can still impress your photography class. You can knock 'em dead, because you're Aria Montgomery, and you can always make the best out of a bad situation."

She smiled at him, and sat down on his lap on the bed. She rubbed her thumbs against his forehead, pushing away the dark brown, nearly black, curls that fell on his forehead. She pressed her nose to his, wrapping her arms around his back.

"How do you do that?" she said, laughing.

He raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do I do what?"

"Always make me laugh during a dark situation!" she cried, and closed the distance between their lips. He kissed her back, his hands moving forward to cup her cheeks as he did so.

"I can't help what I do when I'm around you," Ezra whispered in his corniest voice. "You make me happy, no matter where we are."

She smiled at him again and kissed him chastely.

* * *

"Uh... are you hungry?" Jason asked, shuffling through a few snacks in his hands. "I've got potato chips, a can of root beer, a power breakfast bar, an apple, and a small carton of milk. Take your pick."

"I... I'm not really hungry," Emily mumbled.

"Emily, why are you so hesitant about this?" Jason asked, sighing. He sat down on their bed. "Did I do something wrong? You're acting like I'm a killer or something!"

"Because... because I'm just freaked out about this place, and we're sharing a bed, and I just don't know what to do!" Emily cried.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jason cried. "You said you didn't have a problem sharing a bed with me back when we were in Rosewood. What changed your mind? I can sleep on the couch if you want me to."

"I don't know, I just realized that I don't feel comfortable with it," Emily quietly said. "I can sleep on the couch. You don't have to make an adjustment for my selfish needs."

"I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you, not the other way around. You take the bed, I'll take the couch. Okay?" Jason said, touching her shoulder gently.

She nodded her and said, "Thank you... Jason."

"Any t—" he began, but a knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

"Room service!" the female voice from the other side of the door exclaimed.

Emily walked to the door, and opened it slowly and cautiously. When she realized who was at the door, her jaw was about to smash against the floor. How could it be?

"Paige?" she cried, her eyes blinking quickly. "Is that you? I hope it is, because if it's not, then I just made a really big fool out of myself."

"It's me, Em. It's me," she whispered happily. The lighter skinned swimmer jumped forward and pulled Emily in for a long and sweet hug. "I've missed you. I just found out that you're staying here, and I just had to see you!"

"Coincidence that we're in the same place, huh?" Emily asked, laughing happily. "What made you come here, anyways?"

"I was visiting my aunt for spring break, and I needed money. This motel was hiring, so I applied for a job, just for this week, and I work here at nights as room service. And you and your friends so happenly are staying here at the same time... Weird," Paige said, still holding Emily.

"It's a good kind of weird, though," Emily said, smiling. "Have you seen anyone else here yet? Talked to them?"

"I saw Spencer and Toby. I didn't intend on it, but I went to their room first," Paige said. "I probably made them hate me. I made a few sexual jokes, which didn't seem to please them too much."

"Paige!" Emily cried. "What did you say to them?"

"Unfortunately, I asked them if they needed any condoms, which probably wasn't the nicest way to tease them..." Paige explained.

"No, no, it isn't," Emily said, sighing. "Spencer is really touchy about sex. Most people, disregarding Hanna, are touchy about sex."

"It was light hearted! I didn't intend to piss anyone off," Paige said, sighing. "Well, it doesn't matter. I don't think Spencer ever liked me very much, and if she doesn't like me, she obviously made her boyfriend dislike me, too."

"She doesn't hate you, and neither does Toby," Emily said, reaching out to hug her again.

* * *

"Ezra... I think I hear something," Aria whispered, poking her half-asleep boyfriend's cheek. "Ezra!"

"Mmm, it's probably just the wind. Go to sleep, babe," he mumbled groggily, his eyes snapping back shut as soon as he said so.

But Aria wasn't convinced. It didn't sound like just the wind. It sounded like a person... in their motel room. Her heart was beating fast. She wrapped her arms around Ezra, wanting to just ignore it and go away. He was probably right. She was probably just imagining the sound! She let out a quiet sigh and snuggled against him.

Then she heard it again. The footsteps. She had to know what it was. She pulled away from him, but he was too tired and asleep to even notice.

"I'm going to use the restroom," she whispered into his ear.

"Hhhh... Ookay, babe," he mumbled, still half asleep.

She got up from the bed, cautiously walking to the bathroom. The floor creaked a little bit. Her whole body felt tense. Her hand reached for the door knob, twisting it carefully, as if it would break if she went too fast. Her eyes were practically closed as she walked inside of the bathroom.

When she opened her eyes...

She swore to god that she saw someone standing right there in front of her.

"Ezra!"

* * *

"God, are you ever going to go to sleep, Jason?" Emily asked, looking over to the blond male, who was watching TV while sipping a beer. "It's like one AM. I'm sure everyone else is sleeping."

"I slept enough on the plane," he said. "Since I couldn't have a beer then, right now is my beer time."

There was a knock on the door.

"Should I expect Paige again?" Jason asked, sighing. "I'll get it."

He got up and opened the motel room's door. To his surprise, it was the guy from earlier. The one who looked bad ass while he was drinking his beer when they all first arrived at Bates Motel. He looked up when he saw that the door had opened.

"Hey, I'm sorry to drop in unexpectedly," the guy said, looking down at the floor. "Maybe you remember me from earlier? I'm Dylan."

"Oh, right," Jason said, nodding his head. "Do you need something from us?"

"My brother is missing from the house, and I need to find him before he gets in to trouble, and before Norma realizes he's gone," Dylan explained. "Bud Light? Nice, man. I've got a few cans back at my place. I moved out a while ago, but Norma wanted me to help out at the motel during spring break."

"Nice, I saw you drinking yours when we first got here," Jason said, grinning. He liked this guy already. "And no, we haven't seen your brother. Sorry."

Dylan nodded his head and said, "It's cool. I'll just let Norma handle her son. Is that your girlfriend?"

"No," he said, laughing quietly. "She's my half sister's friend. She's a lesbian, dude."

"Oh," Dylan chuckled, feeling silly about his assumption. "Your can looks empty. Need a refill? I keep some extras in the fridge of the house, I could go grab some if you wanna drink a few with me. You could come check out my place tomorrow. It gets a little lonely over there."

Jason swallowed hard. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't want to get involved with anyone in this town, even if Dylan seemed like a nice guy so far. And he seemed like a cool guy, too. Really chill. But he was Norman's brother, and that kid was a bit on the odder side.

"If you don't want to, all you have to do is say no," Dylan said, his smile fading. He took a step back. "I guess I overstepped my boundaries on that one, didn't I? Listen, man, you're staying here during spring break, I know that, Norma told me. But in this town, a lot can happen in one week. I suggest you make the right friends, because there are a lot of bad people you can get involved with here. My brother's not a bad kid, okay? He's just shy, and a little over attached to his mom. He grew up that way. He can't help it."

Jason nodded his head and apologized, "I'm sorry, Dylan. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just not used to this place yet. I would love to come over for a beer tomorrow. You seem like a cool guy. I'm Jason. That girl over there is my half sister's good friend Emily."

"Jason and Emily, got it," Dylan said, nodding his head. "Glad you decided to come tomorrow. It won't bite. I need to get out of this motel, anyways. Norma always makes me run errands all the time. I'll catch you guys later. I could take you to my place at about twelve in the afternoon, buy you some lunch on the way there. Sound good, man?"

"Sounds good," he said, nodding his head. "Night, man."

"Night."

Emily turned her head and questioned, "Are you really going to hang out with the guy for a beer tomorrow? Aren't you supposed to be chaperoning the trip?"

Jason scoffed and said, "Aw, seriously, Em? You thought that I'm really chaperoning this trip? I'm sure Ezra can. I'm 24 years old, and you're 18 years old. You're an adult. I think you can handle yourself. Besides, if your friends really wanted a good chaperone, do you really think they would have called me? I'm Spencer's drunkard half brother, Emily! You and I both know that they only took me so the parents wouldn't throw a fit."

"I guess you're right, and Ezra is older than you, but... but it doesn't really matter. The chaperoning thing isn't the problem," Emily said, and Jason raised his eyebrows.

"Then what is?" he asked.

"Your safety!" Emily cried. "Aren't you worried that this Dylan guy is some kind of pot head or something? He could be a killer. Everyone in this town so far has been a weirdo or a lunatic. There were all those druggies at the car rental place, and—"

"Hey, calm down," Jason said, chuckling. "He seems like a cool guy. Don't worry about me, okay? Just have fun with your fishing tomorrow."

* * *

"Ezra!"

"Ezra, help me!"

Aria's hand scavenged around the wall for the switch that turned the lights on. She almost hesitated a bit. She was scared to see who the monster really was. She knew somebody was in there, it wasn't even a guess anymore. She saw their shadowy figure moving around in the bathroom. She was sure of it, and it would damn help if her boyfriend would wake up and save her ass! Why did he have to be in such a deep sleep? She wished she had asked for his help. No, that wasn't the problem. Why did they have to come to this creepy town in the first place? Rosewood was creepy, but this town was worse!

When the lights turns on, she screamed so loudly that she wondered if the people in the other motel rooms heard. She needed somebody to help her, anybody! How did he get into the bathroom? How!? Tears started falling from her eyes as she melted to the floor. At least he didn't have a gun or anything... that she could see.

"I am sorry," he apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you or startle you."

"Ezra!" Aria screamed again. "Ezra, please help me! I'm going to die!"

"You are not going to die," he said, his blue eyes looking up. "I must have sleepwalked here, I am so sorry for disturbing you, Miss."

She opened her eyes, and he was gone. Of course, at that moment, Ezra came into the bathroom. Brilliant! Once he escaped, he came in there. Now he would think that she was crazy since she screamed for no reason.

"Aria?" Ezra said, pulling her into his arms. "What's wrong, baby? Talk to me! Why are you screaming?"

"Ezra, there was somebody in here, I swear!" Aria cried.

"Aria, baby, there's no one in here," Ezra whispered, cupping her cheeks. "Maybe you're imagining things. I know you thought this town was scary when we first got here. It's probably all in your head. A panic attack. Calm down, sweetie, calm down." He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

She pushed him away and yelled, "No! I didn't hallucinate it! He was here! That Norman Bates kid from earlier!"

"That's impossible," Ezra said, shaking his head. "That kid lives in the house."

"Well, he was here! He got here somehow!" Aria screamed.

"I'm here," Norman whispered, pushing the shower curtains away and stepping towards the couple. "I am sorry, I didn't want you guys to freak out. I sleepwalked into this room. That is all. I am sorry. Please don't tell my mother."

Ezra's eyes widened. He put his arm in front of Aria, protecting her from the boy.

"Who do you think you are?" he snapped. "You almost gave my girlfriend a panic attack! Holy crap. What kind of motel is this? Huh?"

When she looked at him, he was mad. Furious. He hugged Aria again, pressing kisses to her forehead and all around her face.

"Ar, I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you when you told me the first time, baby," he whispered, rubbing her body. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Interrupting them was a knock at the door. Everyone was there.

Including Norma Bates.

"Is there a problem here?" Norma asked, sighing. "We heard commotion, and so did your friends. Is everything all right?" In the doorway of the bathroom, she saw her son standing there, looking afraid. "Norman, is that you?"

"Yes, Mother," he said, sighing quietly. "I don't need you telling me that what I did is weird, Mother, I already know!"

He stormed out of the motel room.

"Oh my goodness!" Norma cried. "I... I am so sorry about my son."

"Miss Bates, my girlfriend thought there was some kind of psychopath in here!" Ezra cried. "You scared us. How did he even get in here?"

"I don't know, I really don't. I will have a talk with Norman, and this will never happen again, I promise you guys," Norma said sadly. "I... How about a free extra night to make up for this?"

"No, it's fine. We have to get back to school after spring break, anyways," Aria said, staring at the floor. "I want to go to sleep. Come on, Ezra, we're going to bed."

"Aria, are you okay?" Spencer asked, holding onto Toby's hand.

"Yeah Spence, I'm fine," she said. "I just want to go to sleep. Peacefully."


End file.
